Syllabus
Updated: April 19, 2012.
This syllabus is not final. The full class, with policies, readings, and other material, will be available to enrolled students on the class Blackboard site.
Course Description
Students will acquire a background knowledge of Venetian history, geography, demography, culture, and politics with special attention to how Venice has operated as a significant symbol — of an untouchable republic, of a militant mercantile nation, of a corrupt political system, of a decadently sexual culture, and of a dying empire — within various cultural media and artifacts of the Western world.
This course will satisfy the Core 21 requirement for 1 unit of participatory visual & performing arts for students who complete the post-travel portion of the course.
PRE-TRAVEL PHASE (2 units)
Required Material:
- Venetian Hunts & Puzzles — Save Venice — ordered through class; must be taken on trip
- Students will be required to purchase art material for this course, including a travel watercolor set to be taken on the trip (see Supplies), at an approximate cost of $100
CLASS SCHEDULE
Essential Italian phrases and grammar will be taught at the beginning of each lecture.
Week 1. Venice the Free: Jan.
Assigned Reading:
• Venice from the Ground Up, James H. S. McGregor — Chap. 1: The Lagoon (Ebrary)
Extra Reading:
• Semiotics for Beginners: Chapters 2 “Signs” and Chapter 7 “Denotation, Connotation & Myth” (Web)
• “Venice” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Web: http://www.litscape.com/author/Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow/Venice.html)
Assignments:
• Blog topics assigned
Week 2. Venice the Mercantile: Jan.
Assigned Reading:
• The Merchant of Venice: Act III (Blackboard)
• The Jews of Early Modern Venice — Chapter 1: The Venetian Government and the Jews, by Benjamin Ravid (Blackboard)
Extra Reading:
• Browse The Stones of Venice by Ruskin (Web)
Assignments:
• Novels about Venice chosen for book reports
Carnevale is Feb. 1-12 this year!
Week 3. Venice the Militant: Feb.
Assigned Reading:
• Men of Empire: Power and Negotiation in Venice’s Maritime State, by Monique O’Connell — Chap. 1: The Shape of Empire (Ebrary)
Assignments:
• Extra credit: Make a Carnevale mask in Art Studio, Friday, Feb. 4, 2-5 p.m.
Week 4. Venice the Masked Feb.
Assigned Reading:
• Historie de ma vie by Casanova: Vol 10: Under the Leads (Web: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2960)
• Venice from the Ground Up, James H. S. McGregor — Chap. 8: The Streets of Venice (Ebrary)
Week 5. Venice the Libertine: Feb.
Guest Lecturer: Dr. Wyant Morton (Music?)
Assigned Reading:
• Historie de ma vie by Casanova: Vol 8: Convent Affairs (Web: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2958)
• “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, Canto the Fourth,” by Lord Byron (Web: http://www.literaturecollection.com/a/lord-byron/472/)
Week 6. Venice the Decadent: Feb.
Assigned Reading:
• A History of Venice by John Julius Norwich: Chapter 46: The Fall [1789-1797] (Blackboard)
• Venice Rediscovered by John Pemble: Chapter 6: Time’s Ruin (Blackboard)
Extra Reading:
• “On the Extinction of the Venetian Republic,” by William Wordsworth (Web: http://www.everypoet.com/archive/poetry/William_Wordsworth/william_wordsworth_212.htm)
Week 7. Midterm: March
Week 8. Venice in Art I (Turner): March
Assigned Reading:
• Turner (Web: http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/artist05.html)
• The Art of Designing Watercolors, by Robert Lovett — Excerpt (Blackboard)
Assignments:
• Create 2 watercolors
Week 9. Venice in Art II (Sargent): March
Assigned Reading:
• Sargent (Web: http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/artist19.html)
• A Paradise of Cities by John Julius Norwich: Chapter 11: Whistler and Sargent (Ebrary)
Assignments:
• Create 2 watercolors
Week 10. Venice in Art III (Photography): March
Assigned Reading:
• None
Week 11. Venice in Art IV (Photo to Painting): April
Assigned Reading:
• None
Assignments:
• Create 1 watercolor
Week 12. Venice Appropriated I: April
Assigned Reading:
• Venice, Fragile City: 1797-1997, by Margaret Plant — Chapter tba
Assignments:
• Book report due. Post to blog and be prepared to give a brief oral summary of your report in class.
Week 13. Venice Appropriated II: April
Assigned Reading:
• “Another Venice” by Samuele Constantini, “City of Falling Angels” by John Berendt
Assignments:
• Watercolor painting portfolio due (6 paintings)
Week 14. Venice Commodified: April
Assigned Reading:
• Venice, the Tourist Maze: A Cultural Critique of the World’s Most Touristed City, by Robert C. Davis and Garry R. Marvin: Chapter 11: Taking it All Home
• Venice Against the Sea by John Keahey: Chapter 13: Will Venice Survive?
Extra Reading:
• History of Venice, California (Blackboard)
• History of The Venetian in Las Vegas (Blackboard)
Week 15. Venice the Dying: May
Venice Commodified & Final Trip Prep
Assigned Reading:
• Venice Against the Sea by John Keahey: Chapter 4: Tides, Winds, and Global Warming & Chapter 5: Acqua Alta
• Celestial Venice by Moebius
Extra Reading:
• Ode on Venice” by Lord Byron (Web: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ode-on-venice/)
Final: TBD: